Reminisence
by carpfish
Summary: Written to celebrate finally beating the Pokemon League in Pokemon Pearl. A dark haired lady, no younger than 33, stepped into the dark and mostly empty room. Her footsteps ring hollowly, echoing off the metallic walls, resounding like ghosts of the past.


**Reminiscence**

A/N: After more than a year of playing, I finally beat the Sinnoh Pokemon League on Sunday, November the 23rd. I know you're all going 'Pathetic. It took you that long?' but please consider the fact that I'm only allowed to play on Sundays… Anyways, I decided to write an oneshot to celebrate! C: This took me days to do, just look at the size of it! You might want to get comfortable before you start reading, because this is long. Have fun! The _italics_ are flashbacks, and **bold** is Pokemon speech.

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A dark haired lady, no younger than 33, stepped into the dark and mostly empty room. Memories start to come back to her like Magnemite to a Magnezone. Her footsteps ring hollowly, echoing off the metallic walls, resounding like ghosts of the past.

In the center of the room was a machine. It was a device with a lock, and transparent plastic cover, and eight small spheres residing within it. It hadn't been touched for fifteen years.

"_You are now our new Champion!" Cynthia's words rang through the whole room. __A short dark-haired girl__ stared__ at the center of the battlefield__, dumbfounded. She had beaten the most powerful trainer in all of Sinnoh? __Less than two years ago, she had been just a nerdy, klutzy little girl from some little town. Now she was the strongest Pokemon trainer in the region. She was shell-shocked, to say the least. A blue and yellow bi-pedal canine, a white flaming monkey, a navy blue lion, a small black bipedal weasel, a giant mauve and ivory dragon and some sort of creature resembling a white rose stood beside the girl. _

_Tears of joy welled up in her eyes. "No… It wasn't me…She whispered, facing the former Champion. "It was them. I just helped them get stronger. They're the champions._

The woman approached the machine, getting closer and closer. If you looked closely, then you would see that the spheres within the machine were rattling. They had sensed her presence, and wanted to get out.

_Six balls were placed in a beautiful machine in the Hall of Fame in the Pokemon League building of Sinnoh. The balls glowed white for a moment, then returned back to their original state. The girl grabbed the balls, and pressed the button on each of them, releasing all of the creatures from before except for the dragon, as she was afraid that his enormous weight of 336 kg would cause the floor to crumble. _

"_I'm so proud of you guys!" She said, pulling them all into a warm embrace. The canine appeared to be enjoying the hug, while the monkey was pretending to not care, even though an affectionate smile of sorts was on his primate-like features. _

"_You're names are going to be recorded in the Hall of Fame forever! You'll be famous! And each and every one of you deserves it! I'm so proud of you guys!" The girl squealed. "Now, off to new adventures!"_

The woman reached out her hand, and tapped a code number into the pass-code lock that bound the cover to the machine. The machine made a few whirring sounds, then the plastic cover slid open, giving the lady access to the spheres.

"_Here we are, the Battle Tower!" The dark-haired girl exclaims. She looked at the Pokemon beside her. "We're going to fight to the top! Nothing will stop us! Right guys?" The Pokemon nod and the girl smiles even more brightly than before. _

_**You bet!**__ The blue lion roars, followed by a chorus of similar words from the others._

"_Okay! Battle Tower, here we come! The champions have arrived!"_

The lady picked up one of the balls and rubs the patina of dust and grime off it. She was hardly surprised to find out the ball was as warm as a fireplace. There was a small sticker of a flame on the top of the sphere, though it was faded and you can hardly see it. The woman adjusts her grip on the ball, recalling all the times long ago when she had held the very same ball.

"_Aah! We're being attacked by Starlies! I knew this was a bad idea! We should have never come into the tall grass! Now we're going to die at the hands of Starlies for crying out loud! Why Starlies? This is not how I wanted to go down!" The girl from before yelled, except this time she looked younger, less mature, and ferocious black and white birds surrounded her. The confident, joyous expression on her face from before was replaced by a look of fear and resentment. A blond boy with messy hair and amber eyes was next to her._

"_Hey, don't blame me! I didn't decide for Starlies to attack us! It's not my faul- Wait, there are Poke Balls in that briefcase!" He shouted, pointing at a small black briefcase with three red and white spheres in it. The girl glared at him._

"_We shouldn't take those! They belong to someone el-!" A black and white bird flying close to her face, a furious look on its features and the girl screamed, cut off her words. "Oh, if it's a matter of life and death, I'm sure the owner won't mind!" She decided hastily. She randomly grabbed a ball from the briefcase, as the boy next to her did the same. They both threw the balls at the same time._

"_Go whatever-you-are!" The girl yelled, and a beam of white light shot out of the ball. On the ground where the light struck, a small brown monkey with a flame in the place of a tail appeared. _

_**Huh? What the Arceus was going on? I'm sleepy…**__ It chattered, rubbing its eyes. The girl was frantic. _

"_Use… Scratch!" She commanded. The Pokemon looked confused for a second, before realizing that the black and white birds were attacking it. It retaliated by scratching it with its nails. The bird was not pleased, and tackled the monkey, but the small fire-type was persistent. It scratched the bird again, causing it to flee in terror. _

_The monkey looked happy with its work, and jumped into the girl's arms. The girl looked at her companion, to see that he was safe, and a small blue penguin was standing next to him triumphantly over a knocked out bird. The girl relaxed, then tickled the belly of the small Pokemon in her arms. "Are you a boy or a girl?" She wondered out loud._

_The cheerful expression on the Pokemon's face disappeared. __**I'm a boy, genius!**__ The apparently male monkey snapped. The girl smiled._

"_Okay! I've decided to nickname you Charr!" She proclaims. "Charr the Chimcharr!"_

The woman sets down the ball with the flame on it, and picked up another, this time with a lightning bolt sticker on it. Unlike the first one, this ball was still shiny, and in perfect condition. The woman was surprised, for she hasn't touched it for fifteen years. But then she remembers the determined, persistent, yet motherly nature of the creature inside, and smiles, realizing that that was the reason for the sphere's cleanliness.

"_We're headed for Oreburgh City!" The young girl sang, Charr, the monkey from earlier, perched on her shoulder. All of a sudden, a small blue cat jumped out of the tall grass and snarled in an attempt to be menacing. The girl's eyes widened as she pulled out a red device. She looked the device for several moments before saying, "It's a Shinx! How cute! I'm gonna catch it!" _

_Upon hearing these words, Charr jumped off her shoulder, a cocky and confident look on his face. __**I am so much stronger than you!**__ He boasted. The cat scowled. _

_**You wish bozo!**__ It retorted. Charr's expression suddenly turned serious as his trainer ordered, "Scratch!" He clawed the small cat with his nails. The cat flinched, and then glared at Charr as it growled fiercely. Charr looked at the cat. Even though he was probably stronger then it, something about the cat made Charr feel a small pang of fear in his heart. Little did he know that that was the effect that the blue feline was going for: To lower his will to attack._

_But the girl saw through the cat's scheme. "Use Scratch again, Charr!" The small monkey clawed the cat a second time. This time, instead of growling, the cat rammed itself against her assaulter. As quick as a flash, the girl grabbed a red and white ball from her backpack and threw it at the cat. A beam of white light from the ball abducted the feline-like creature. The ball rolled around for a few moments, and then was still. _

_The tension built up as the girl crossed her fingers and hoped that the capture was a success. Moments later, two small sparks flew from the ball, signaling that the Pokemon was caught. The girl punched the air as Charr did a small victory dance. The girl picked up the ball from the ground and looked at it. "I'm going to name you ShiShi!" she said._

The woman closed her eyes in reminiscence, and then puts down the ball. She picked up another one, this one with a small blue rose petal taped to the top. It has a coat of very fine dust on it, giving it an antique and refined appearance. The lady shook her head at how even the condition of the balls reflect the personalities of the creatures within them.

_A green creature with thorns on its head and flowers in the place of hands stood in front a seaside cave with a sign saying 'Victory Road' next to it. Next to it was a girl with dark hair, holding a shiny jade colored pebble. She smiles. "Dew… You've grown so much. You aren't that little Budew I caught on Route 203 any more, are you?" She laughs, a hint of sadness lining the laughter. The flower creature shook his head._

_**I'm not! I've evolved, and I've grown stronger. You of all people, my trainer, should know that!**__ He retorted loftily, but a smile gracing his small lips. The girl nodded._

"_I know… I'm going to miss the Dew the Roselia… But I know that you've always wanted to evolve, and I finally figured out what the Shiny Stone is used for… I only have one Shiny Stone, and I highly doubt I'll ever be lucky enough to find another one, so don't make me regret using this one you, okay?" She said, holding the stone in front of the Pokemon._

_**Of course, I would never do such a thing! I swear it by my word as a member of the Roselia evolution line!**__ He said, placing one hand-flower on his shoulder. The girl laughed once again, this laugh full of joy._

"_Okay! Get ready to evolve!" She said, handing the stone to the creature. As soon as the Pokemon makes contact with the stone, it glows a bright radioactive green. Soon, that glow spreaded to the Pokemon, slowly engulfing it. The creature's limbs seemed to stretch and grow. After few minutes, the glow disappeared, and standing there was a completely different, yet similar looking Pokemon._

"_Dew, you are finally a Roserade. I'm so proud of you! You're beautiful!" the girl proclaimed. The Pokemon smiled at the girl. _

_**Thank you.**_

Tears slowly coming to her eyes, the woman placed down the ball with the rose petal, and picked up another. This one, unlike the others, was painted a bright, laser-like blue. A small 'K' was etched on it. The paint was chipped and fading, but some sort of heroic and courageous aura radiated from it. The woman slowly turned the ball around in her hand, remembering where it came from.

"_I always wanted this little guy to see the world. But I know you'll do a better job of it than I ever will. Here, take this," A blue-clad man placed a basketball-sized egg into the girl's hands. The girl was shocked._

"_You're giving this Pokemon egg…. To me?" She gasps. A blue canine-like creature next to man grunts in annoyance. _

_**Obviously!**__ It said indignantly, looking away as if he refused to meet the eye of the girl. The girl stared at the egg in her hands for a few moments. It's a dark navy blue, with a jagged band of black in the middle and a smaller one near the top. Then she carefully placed the fragile egg into her backpack. _

_The girl looked at the man. "I won't let you down! As soon as it hatches, I'll train this Pokemon to be strong! You can count on me!" She said, punching the air. The man smiled._

"_Don't worry, I know you'll do your best. That's the whole reason I chose you," He said. The canine stared at the girl._

_**You had better take care of my younger brother, or else. **__It warned her, and then it turned away again. The man tipped his blue hat._

"_Well, I'd better be going. See you around," He comments, starting to leave._

"_Wait," The girl shouts, running up to him. "Will I ever see you again?" she asked, hoping with all her heart that he would say 'yes'._

_The man smiled once again, and nodded. "Knowing you, you'll know where to find me. We will meet again." These were his final words as he disappeared into the caves of Iron Island. _

_The girl watched him leave, then looked at the egg in her backpack, the fire of determination burning in her eyes. "I am going to train you to be as strong as I can possibly train you into!" She proclaimed, though no one could hear her. "I promise!"_

The woman smiled at the sweet memory, but the smile disappeared as suddenly as it came when she remembered what makes the creature that hatched from that egg different.

_A small bipedal blue canine, like a smaller version of the ones before stood next to the girl in a patch of tall grass. It looked very happy. __**The wind feels so nice and cool on my face… **__It commented, closing its eyes. However, the girl didn't look as joyful as the creature beside her. _

"_Kaleon_*1_…" She said, hesitating for a moment. The canine looked at her upon hearing its name. "Kaleon, you just evolved, right?" _

_**Yeah, you were right there when it happened.**__ It replied. The girl sighed. _

"_I'm so proud of you… You took down Jupiter's Bronzor so well! But during that battle, I noticed something during that battle…"_

_The canine stiffened. __**What did you notice?**__ It asked innocently, playing dumb and praying to Arceus that his trainer didn't notice what he thought she noticed._

"_Kaleon," The girl asked her Pokemon. "Why didn't you tell me you were blind? Do any of the others know?"_

_The canine frowned. __**I… I didn't tell you because… I thought you'd think less of me. In fact, I didn't even know that I was different until Starling and Dew confronted me and told me… But it doesn't matter! I can still see! Dew told me about aura… I've been learning how to use it to see! I can see the outlines and shapes of things… That's enough, right? I can still be a great fighter!**__ It insisted. The girl bent down to the creature's level so that she could look him in the eye. She placed her hands on its shoulders. _

"_I never want you to think that, alright?" She exclaimed. "No matter what happens, you are my Lucario, and you always will be. I made a promise to someone that I'd train you the best I can, and I am not breaking that promise just because of something as infinitesimal as sight problems. Okay? I will help you learn how to see with aura if it's the last thing I do, Kaleon! I swear!" The girl stood up, and put her arm around the blue canine's shoulder. "Now let's get back to the others before they start to worry. Knowing them, they've probably already sent Assassin to spy on us," She laughed._

_The Pokemon smiled. __**Okay… Thanks. **__And the two walked away._

The woman put the blue ball down, her guilt almost consuming her. She reached for the next ball in the line, a ball with a camouflage pattern on the top, with a coat of dust covering it. If you looked close enough, you would have seen that the dust swirled around in patterns, like an artist's paints, the sphere being the canvas.

_A black and white bird the size of the girl standing next to it flapped its wings. __**What a beautiful day…**__ The bird chirped, stretching its neck. __**Now would you mind telling me why you made me fly you all the way from Victory Road to Eterna City?**__ It asked the girl._

_The girl beamed, and says, "Well, ever since you evolved, I've decided that just plain old 'Starling' isn't a good enough name for you, and the name rater is in Eterna, so…" The bird's eyes widened._

_**Y-you want to change my name? But I've been Starling for so l-long… **__It stuttered. __**I don't believe this…**_

_The girl nods. "I know how you feel, but… I just think you deserve better! Please understand Starling…" She pleaded. The bird closed its eyes for a moment, and then opened them again, revealing its crimson irises. _

_**What will my new name be?**__ The bird with a black 'M' on its white chest enquired softly._

"_Kazeri," The girl answered. "It's derived from the word 'Kaze' which means 'wind' in Japanese."_

_The bird considered this for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, Kazeri it is." It chirped. If it had been possible for the creature, it would have been smiling widely._

_The girl jumped up and hugged the Pokemon's neck. "Thanks, Star- I mean, Kazeri! You're the best!" She yelled._

The ghost of a smile touched the woman's lips, but faded as she gently placed the sphere back in its place. Another ball is picked up; this one had a huge tooth that looked like it was big enough to belong to Groudon taped on the top, like a Sharpedo fin. The lady recalls a time when that tooth was as sharp as a blade, and as white as a Donphan's ivory tusks. But that time was over. The tooth was now yellow, like the edges of a piece of burnt paper, and as blunt as a Jigglypuff is pink.

_A small red fish flailed around on the ground, shining white. "Splish? What's going on?" The dark-haired trainer asked herself. The fish elongated, and transformed. Before the girl's very eyes was a gigantic blue and yellow sea dragon. "You've evolved…" She whispered. "After all our work, you've finally evolved… And you rock, Splish! Go you!" She yelled up to the dragon._

_The sea serpent grinned widely, and roared __**I finally evolved! WOOT! I do rock! **_

_The girl jumped up and down in excitement. "After all your hard work, you're finally strong now! I'm so proud! Good work, Splish! No one can ever call you helpless again!" _

_The serpent had a smug look on its face. __**They had better not.**_

The woman placed the fanged ball back in its place and picked up yet another sphere. This particular one, like the first, was covered in dust and grime. But it still had a deadly sheen to it, as if it were a sharpened razor. A small pink feather was glued to it.

"_Assassin! Use Avalanche!" The dark-haired girl ordered. A black cat-like creature with a pink feather in the place of one of its ears *2 was struck by a giant blue bat's outstretched wings, but hung in there. It focused, and suddenly, an avalanche of snow and ice appeared out of nowhere and completely buried the bat. The bat didn't move. The trainer made a peace sign with her middle and index fingers. "Great job, Sassy!" She yelled._

_The black feline brushed off its fur, a victorious expression on its features.__** As always. Another Golbat down, now I can see why ShiShi loves to annihilate them so much. It's so easy!**__ It boasted._

_The girl raised her eyebrows. "Oh really? You do know that Golbats are flying-types, and flying-type moves are super effective on ice-types, right? Not to mention, this is only the second Golbat you've ever won!" The black cat scowled. _

_**Alright… You win.**__ It admitted sourly. __**But I still did a really good job!**_

"_Of course, Assassin. You did wonderful," The girl laughed. "Now, let's see if we can find you more Golbats to slaughter." Having said that, the pair walked off deeper into the cave they were in._

The woman carefully put the ball back into its former position, and then examined yet another, the last one in line. It was a Great Ball, but you could hardly see the ball anymore under all the dirt and mud caking it, and the surface of the ball was full of convex dents, as if whatever was inside it had used it as a punching bag. The lady raised an eyebrow, as she had no idea as to how the dirty sphere became covered in mud, but just shrugged it off.

"_And the winner of this Normal Rank Toughness Super Contest is…. Bruce the Machoke*3!" The Master of Ceremonies announced._

_The girl with dark-hair in a pink frilly dress jumped up, and screamed, "Yes! We won, Bruce!" The blue muscle-bound creature beside her grinned widely, exposing its sharp teeth, and just brushed off the red markings on its arms. The girl rushed up to the MC, and gratefully accepted the ribbon handed to her. She flashed it around triumphantly, and then went offstage with her Pokemon. _

_Later, after they had changed out of their accessories and such, the two were walking out of the Contest Hall. "You were terrific, Bruce!" The girl chattered at the speed of a race-Rapidash*4. "You danced perfectly, you were beautiful in the Visual part of the contest, and in the Acting part… You were simply astounding! Why didn't you tell me you were so good at this?" The girl laughed. The creature shrugged._

_**I guess I just have some untapped potential as a contest Pokemon. This is actually my first time ever doing something like this.**__ The human-like blue creature admitted sheepishly. The girl just smiled._

"_Then I guess we'll have to work harder to tap that untapped potential!"_

_There was awkward silence for a moment, and then the creature spoke once again. __**I've wanted to ask you this for a while… We both know that I'm a female Machoke. So why did you give me a male name?**_

_The girl paused for a few seconds before answering simply, "You were named after someone."_

_**Named after whom?**_

_A small smile touched the girl's lips. "There was a famous martial artist named Bruce Lee. He was born in America, one of the world's…. Other regions, but was raised in Hong Kong, which is my home region. He was regarded one of the most influential martial artist in his time, and he is founder of the Jeet Kun Do combat form. In other words, he's a famous fighter. His Chinese name was Lee Siao Long, which literally translates into 'Little Dragon Lee'.*5 I knew that as a fighting-type, you'd probably like it, and I hope that you'll someday be as great as he was," She explained. _

_The Pokemon was silent throughout all this. After her trainer had finished, she finally spoke up. __**Wow… That's a great honor, to be named after the founder of a style of fighting, but… What do you mean by 'he was'? Isn't he still alive? **__She enquired._

_The girl bit her lip. "Bruce... Bruce Lee died in 1973…" She said softly._

_Bruce's eyes widened, then returned to their normal size. After a moment of speechlessness, she grinned and said, __**Well, I sure won't be going to bite the dust anytime soon! You can bet on that! **__She proclaimed._

_Her trainer grinned once again. "I'm sure you won't Bruce."_

The last ball was dropped back into its place. The woman brushed her fingers each of the spheres, one by one, in this order: the flame, the lightning, the flower, the safari, the Great Ball, the fang, the blue and the feather. It had been a long time since she had seen these spheres. For fifteen years these balls and the creatures inside them had been locked up in that machine.

_Tears filled the dark-haired girl's eyes as she stepped into a bright room with pure white walls, and a machine in the center. "Now dear," The girl's mother said, putting her hand on the girl's shoulder. "This is for the best. You already released all the others; this is the only option if you ever want to see them again. You can't bring them to college with you; you're far too old for this! Besides, Alamos University doesn't allow students to bring Pokemon with them, and I can't take care of all your Pokemon for you, I'm not as young as I used to be. Please understand…"_

_The girl slowly nodded. The flaming albino monkey next to her stared at her sadly. She had told him about what was about to happen the previous night, and he understood that it was inevitable. He didn't want to hold back his trainer, and he accepted his fate. The monkey stared at her face for the longest time, trying to remember every single detail, hoping that he would never forget it. _

_**It's okay,**__ He chattered. __**We'll wait for you! Promise to come get us, alright? Then we can have fun like we used to!**__ He put on a pained smile._

_A dark blue lion nuzzled the girl. __**Yeah…**__**I'll keep everyone in line until you come back! **__She growled, glaring at the monkey in particular._

_The girl ceased her silent sobbing, and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I promise guys, as soon as I get out of college, everything will be back to normal." She knelt down and hugged the monkey and the lion, a watery smile gracing her lips. Afterwards, she drew two red and white spheres, one with a flame sticker on it, and the other with a lightning bolt on it, from her bag. She held them up, facing the creatures before her. _

"_Everyone else is in their Poke Balls already," The trainer whispered. "It's only fitting that you guys should go last. You two stuck with me from beginning to end." Fighting the urge to look back, she pressed the buttons on the balls, and a beam of red light shot out, vacuuming the two into the balls. _

_The deed was done. The girl placed eight spheres into the machine, tapped a code, and the plastic cover slid down and locked itself. Looking one last time before walking away, the girl whispered, "I come back for you, I promise…"_

Fifteen years later, that same girl stood in front of those same eight spheres. She had finally come back. She picked up the first ball, the one with the flame on it, turned around so that she was facing some empty space in the dim room, and pressed the button. A beam of red light shot out of it.

"Hi Charr. I'm finally back."

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A/N: I hope that you all enjoyed it! This is the longest piece I've ever written, at a whopping more than 5,400 words including the Author's notes! Read, review and tell me what you liked and didn't like! I hope you enjoyed reading this!

*1 = I didn't change my Lucario's name to Kaleon until I changed Starling to Kazeri, but I felt it would be too awkward to just keep calling him LUCARIO...

*2 = Just FYI, Assassin has already evolved into a Weavile...

*3 = When Bruce won that contest, she was actually still a Machop, but I wanted to show what my Pokemon where like at the time when I defeated Cynthia.

*4 = Race Rapidash: Racehorse

*5 = This is all true. Used Wikipedia and my own knowledge of the Chinese language to put together this background information. Bruce really is named after Bruce Lee.


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